4 ms·

This only works to a point, especially if the excessive worry is the result of past trauma. > Or saying hello to the worry but don't stop to chat Alternative

This only works to a point, especially if the excessive worry is the result of past trauma. > Or saying hello to the worry but don't stop to chat Alternative approach: get to know the part of your brain that's worried. What underlies that worry? What is that part of your brain afraid will happen if it didn't bring up this anxiety? It's trying to protect you from some sort of pain, even if this behavior of excessive worry has now become maladaptive. That's sort of the basis of Internal Family Systems therapy. The idea that our brain has discrete parts (different neural nets probably), and that they're all trying to protect us. Getting to know these parts can let us understand why they do what they do, which can give us the tools to heal them, and allow them to take on new roles. Sometimes this "labeling" technique can lead to negative blowback if parts of your brain feel that you're now in danger because you're ignoring their warning signals. The same problem happens with meditation too, which is why you hear lots of stories of people being destabilized at meditation retreats. I think this risk is higher for people with trauma in their history.

meken 4y ago
I never thought I had trauma, but this has been my exact experience with labeling, and I’ve recently begun working with an IFS therapist as well.
- Trasmatta 4y ago
  Yeah, it's also possible that it's not the best approach even for people without acute trauma. Trauma can also be complex and cumulative, like with CPTSD. I think it can work in the short term, but it ignores the longer term fact that these anxieties are coming from somewhere in our brains that can't always be reprogrammed with a simple labeling technique.
  - spoiler 4y ago
    This is all thinking in hindsight, so maybe it's backwards rationalisation, but when I started meditating it felt like it helped me improve my focus at work, but around the same time I've become more emotionally disregulated. So, maybe there is something to what you're saying. This is very anecdotal though (and I've definitely had an abusive mother)
    - Trasmatta 4y ago
      I've read a lot of anecdotal reports just like yours. I think it's way more common than people think when they get into meditation. Especially for people who had any trauma growing up. I think the IFS model offers an interesting hypothesis for why this happens. According to IFS, we have parts that experienced extreme pain in childhood that hold onto that pain and become "exiles". Other parts are put in front of them as "protectors". Meditation seems to quiet the protectors, which can unleash the pain of the exiles unexpectedly, leaving us without the ability to deal with it. IFS takes a different approach by working with the protectors, not against them. You only go to the exiles (the deep pain underneath) with the permission of the protectors.
sizzle 4y ago
I started making a checklist of things that worried me so I can offload end feeling of forgetting to do something critical and no longer have these worrisome thoughts cause I can simply tell myself, stick to the checklist it’s all accounted for. Try it out!

meken 4y ago

I never thought I had trauma, but this has been my exact experience with labeling, and I’ve recently begun working with an IFS therapist as well.

Trasmatta 4y ago
Yeah, it's also possible that it's not the best approach even for people without acute trauma. Trauma can also be complex and cumulative, like with CPTSD. I think it can work in the short term, but it ignores the longer term fact that these anxieties are coming from somewhere in our brains that can't always be reprogrammed with a simple labeling technique.
- spoiler 4y ago
  This is all thinking in hindsight, so maybe it's backwards rationalisation, but when I started meditating it felt like it helped me improve my focus at work, but around the same time I've become more emotionally disregulated. So, maybe there is something to what you're saying. This is very anecdotal though (and I've definitely had an abusive mother)
  - Trasmatta 4y ago
    I've read a lot of anecdotal reports just like yours. I think it's way more common than people think when they get into meditation. Especially for people who had any trauma growing up. I think the IFS model offers an interesting hypothesis for why this happens. According to IFS, we have parts that experienced extreme pain in childhood that hold onto that pain and become "exiles". Other parts are put in front of them as "protectors". Meditation seems to quiet the protectors, which can unleash the pain of the exiles unexpectedly, leaving us without the ability to deal with it. IFS takes a different approach by working with the protectors, not against them. You only go to the exiles (the deep pain underneath) with the permission of the protectors.

sizzle 4y ago

I started making a checklist of things that worried me so I can offload end feeling of forgetting to do something critical and no longer have these worrisome thoughts cause I can simply tell myself, stick to the checklist it’s all accounted for. Try it out!